With two holes remaining at the 5A girls golf championship, Valor Christian’s Ella Scott said she would like to pretend nothing changed after Legend’s Scout Fitzgerald pulled within a stroke of her for the lead.

But there’s staying level-headed, and then there’s maintaining it. The junior felt the freshman on her heels late in the final round in her bid to repeat as the 5A individual champ but reminded herself to view the spot as an opportunity rather than a problem.

“I’ve found a way to channel it into confidence,” Scott said. “I’ve turned it into seeing it as an opportunity to do something great.”

And she did.

Once again, Scott and Valor Christian are the best in Class 5A girls golf.

Scott birdied No. 17 on the second day of the tournament at Thorncreek Golf Course to pad her lead and went on to win her second straight individual title with a two-day score of 1-under-par 143.

Her win led a dominant team effort from the Eagles, who had three golfers inside the top 10, four in the top 20 and won by 19 strokes for their fifth straight team title.

“Each experience has been a new one,” Valor Christian coach Justen Byler said. “New relationships, new team, but it’s one big family. And I think that’s what makes it so special. They believe in the team aspect of what we’ve been doing.”

Scott’s repeat comes on the heels of former teammate Brenna Higgins’ back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.

“She’s such an incredible person and golfer,” Scott said of the current CU Buffs player. “So being able to do that is really cool.”

But it was far from easy. The first day of the tournament was cold, windy and wet — “miserable conditions,” as many golfers bluntly put it.

Scott had a two-shot lead despite it but felt challenger Fitzgerald, a freshman, breathing down her neck late in the second round.

Leading by just a stroke going into par-3 No. 17, Scott put her tee shot 13 feet away from the pin before making her birdie putt. Fitzgerald bogeyed and settled for second, ultimately carding 147.

“Players like Scout and Ella are elite mentally,” Byler said. “(Fitzgerald) is a superb player. Fortunately, Ella was able to respond.”

Don’t expect Valor Christian’s dynasty run to end anytime soon.

Freshmen Emma Nguyen and Chloe Johnson each finished inside the top 10 for the Eagles, placing fourth (152) and eighth (156), respectively. Senior Aja Blankenship is their lone state player who will not return after she finished her career with a 19th-place finish (165) at state.

Valor Christian won with a score of 451. Legend was second (470) and Rock Canyon was third (474).

Rounding out the individual top five, Rock Canyon’s Ashley Chang was third (148), while Cherry Creek’s Tatum Platt tied Valor’s Nguyen for fourth (152).